England's Winter of Cricket 2020/21

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Rum sort of field for Nadeem to Sibley...two short covers ???

Not noted for getting caught there , is he ? Strange theory...

Kohli and Ashwin denying England that one opening so far. The old ball is not as amenable to too many tricks as the newish one, but England did maximum damage with the new ball that it really doesn't matter.

Aha...Leach does the trick ...bounced more than Ashwin expected , little top edge and Buttler does the rest

Good cricket all round...seven down and surely won't be too long now .

Actually took the glove. Was a bit too close to cut but Ashwin had done a pretty good job up to then. Better than some of the top order. He's had a good match.

Leach with another. Not his best ball of the day, but he won't care a jot.

England into the tail and should be looking to get this done in the next hour.

So he resisted hard for 50 minutes post lunch, but now Ashwin's undone, extra bounce from leach, unable to handle.
England wouldn't need the 2nd new ball.

msp83 wrote:So he resisted hard for 50 minutes post lunch, but now Ashwin's undone, extra bounce from leach, unable to handle.
England wouldn't need the 2nd new ball.

Shouldn't need it. Still 28 overs yet. But Nadeem will be keen to show he can bat , I guess. Didn't last long first innings...

Don't think Kohli will throw it away.

With the second test starting soon England will be extra grateful that today hasn't been a long slog to the finish. Everyone should be fresh for Saturday, though I'd still expect Broad in for Anderson.

Great knock from Kohli but even he can do anything about that. Shot along the floor. Is only a matter of time now before a famous England win.

Duty281 wrote:With the second test starting soon England will be extra grateful that today hasn't been a long slog to the finish. Everyone should be fresh for Saturday, though I'd still expect Broad in for Anderson.

Will be an early night now...Stokes cleans up Kohli...with a grubber. Typical last day seamer's delivery , Stokes backing up Anderson well

"It may well have kept a little down"

Yes, Nick Knight, I daresay it did!

Stokes gets Kohli, Formalities minutes away.

Going back to my comment on day 3...I really should get up earlier!

eirebilly wrote:Dammit, I was driving to work and by the sounds of things, I have missed one of the best overs Jimmy Anderson has ever bowled...

Stokes bowls Kohli. You can start the car again, Billy!

JDizzle wrote:Great knock from Kohli but even he can do anything about that. Shot along the floor. Is only a matter of time now before a famous England win.

Quite possibly England's greatest test win in the last few years, and will be remembered for a while longer, in the same way that Mumbai 2012, Karachi 2000, Joburg 2005, and Melbourne 2010 all resonate.

Hopefully it'll be backed up in the tests to come. Chennai 2021 has underlined the progress England have made under Silverwood.

Really happy for Leach, shows great character too to come back from that mauling and bowl better. 1 to go, hope its him who gets it

Duty281 wrote:

JDizzle wrote:Great knock from Kohli but even he can do anything about that. Shot along the floor. Is only a matter of time now before a famous England win.

Quite possibly England's greatest test win in the last few years, and will be remembered for a while longer, in the same way that Mumbai 2012, Karachi 2000, Joburg 2005, and Melbourne 2010 all resonate.

Hopefully it'll be backed up in the tests to come. Chennai 2021 has underlined the progress England have made under Silverwood.

Does sound hyperbolic but its certainly ading to a very convincing win on a tour we didnt expect much. Does show how much batting first counts though but dreams of Australia 2007,, seemed an impossile task then too.

Warning for me is that England are so reliant on Root for runs, its a hell of an Ace but a pair would beat it in poker. The bowling stable though looks very good and a match for India.

Stokes got the big fish. Rested again now ...sensible. Let him bowl as little as needed , he won't be rotating like the main quicks.

Archer gets a shot at the rabbits now... Has he got Ishant hit wicket ?...

No ! Windy day apparently ...

Gooseberry wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

JDizzle wrote:Great knock from Kohli but even he can do anything about that. Shot along the floor. Is only a matter of time now before a famous England win.

Quite possibly England's greatest test win in the last few years, and will be remembered for a while longer, in the same way that Mumbai 2012, Karachi 2000, Joburg 2005, and Melbourne 2010 all resonate.

Hopefully it'll be backed up in the tests to come. Chennai 2021 has underlined the progress England have made under Silverwood.

Does sound hyperbolic but its certainly ading to a very convincing win on a tour we didnt expect much. Does show how much batting first counts though but dreams of Australia 2007,, seemed an impossile task then too.

Warning for me is that England are so reliant on Root for runs, its a hell of an Ace but a pair would beat it in poker. The bowling stable though looks very good and a match for India.

Yes, at some point someone other than Root is going to need to make a big century in a test, but for now Root is in scintillating form and I think we can expect him to make at least one more big contribution in this series.

And Archer seals it. England win by a fantastic 227 runs.

All done ... Archer gets the edge , simple catch for Jos and a win by 227 runs.

Can't complain about that

So its all over. Fine win for England. They really outplayed India in all departments.

Arecher gets it.

Other big thing from this test is the short turnaorund. Its noticeable that India tried their best not to bowl Bumrah and Ishant in the second digs, but theyve stilll put in big shifts in the tests. Ashwin over 70 overs and a fair time batting plus all that fielding, even as a spinner he must be in need of a nap.

England have the luxury of having Broad to swap in for Anderson and later Wood for Archer if its needed, but neither should be struggling for the next test. Stokes has been used sparingly too. Bess and Leach have both shown they can take wickets , although theres been periods theyve taken some tap overall their figures are pretty solid. In some ways its not bad that India are happy to go after them, just increases the chances of mistakes.

As good a start to the series as anyone could've dreamed of. Fabulous!

Lots to think about for India, their top 3 bowlers bowled well on a flat pitch in the first innings, but Nadeem was a complete letdown and Sundar didn't do all that well either. Jadeja is not going to be available for the next game either, so they shouldn't waste time, bring Kuldeep back. He may not run through England and may well be a case of being a better bowler when not playing, but Nadeem's benchmark is so low, that Kuldeep can't do any worse!

A real top drawer win for England, from the second session of the match it's been sheer domination and if anything the margin of victory flatters India a bit.

https://twitter.com/zaltzcricket/status/1359016589660684291?s=21

Think Zaltzman sums it up nicely here. As noted, India had lost only one of their 35 home test matches since that 2012 tour...

6 away test wins on the trot, first time since 1914 if my use of cricinfo is correct.

That was really about as perfect a performance as you’re going to get. Dominated from when Root arrived at the crease on day one onwards
Anything else in this series merely a bonus from here on out for me...

India have just been boatraced since the first day. England never gave them a chance

Other thing to say is how much Anderson is cementing his status as a legend this past year. I genuinely thought he'd gone on too long after the Ashes and SA debacles but hes bowled some of his best stuff ever over the last 4 series. One thing doing it at home, but again we've seen he can been unplayable on Asian pancakes.

Took his time to mature s a test bowler but whereas some of the quicks faded late career hes just got better and better and still bringing that average down. Lowest its ever been now. From 2017 hes only had one bad series (SL) and averaged under 20 in 8 of the 14 (if you include this one) , overall 19.97 in the period.  Thats playing everywhere in the world and against all the best teams. Maybe still a slight point to prove in the Ashes .....

msp83 wrote:Lots to think about for India, their top 3 bowlers bowled well on a flat pitch in the first innings, but Nadeem was a complete letdown and Sundar didn't do all that well either. Jadeja is not going to be available for the next game either, so they shouldn't waste time, bring Kuldeep back. He may not run through England and may well be a case of being a better bowler when not playing, but Nadeem's benchmark is so low, that Kuldeep can't do any worse!

Think Kuldeep has to be a given. Different questions to ask of Root, and just that randowm chance of making things happen even if he bowls some filth. Washingtons a problem as a bowler but at least he delivered with the bat, and its obvious Jadeja walks back in when fit. Think teh seamers could prove to be a bigger problem. Bumrah wont be able to put in that kind of shift again next test.

Biggest thing for India is to win the toss though.

Funny how all the pundits are now up Roots bum about how great a captain he is after spending most of the past few years questioning every decision hes made. Including how long they batted yesterday

guildfordbat wrote:

king_carlos wrote:What a catch. Ben Stokes. Just freakish how easy he makes that look.

80 runs and 4 wickets from just over 20 overs in the morning session. An engrossing day so far. A shame for Sundar to get stranded in a excellent innings.

England lead by 241, confirmation that they wont enforce the follow on.

With England needing around 150 runs as quick as possible I'd certainly consider altering the batting order now.

Unlike some of you early birds, I wasn't up when Stokes caught Bumrah to end India's innings. However, I saw it during the tea break. Utterly brilliant. Unlikely to influence the outcome of the match ... although I'll certainly return to it if we win tomorrow with only a few minutes to spare.

Amongst a clutch of awards, Stokes gets Moment of the Match for this catch. Seems a bit odd but there again it was a stonking catch!

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:https://twitter.com/zaltzcricket/status/1359016589660684291?s=21

Think Zaltzman sums it up nicely here. As noted, India had lost only one of their 35 home test matches since that 2012 tour...

6 away test wins on the trot, first time since 1914 if my use of cricinfo is correct.

That was really about as perfect a performance as you’re going to get. Dominated from when Root arrived at the crease on day one onwards
Anything else in this series merely a bonus from here on out for me...

England should be aiming to win the series from here. Might be different if India had handed them victory on a silver platter, but England were consistently excellent in this test, and should be confident of backing it up with at least one more win. I'd certainly be disappointed if India were to emerge triumphant after this initial hammering.

msp83 wrote:Lots to think about for India, their top 3 bowlers bowled well on a flat pitch in the first innings, but Nadeem was a complete letdown and Sundar didn't do all that well either. Jadeja is not going to be available for the next game either, so they shouldn't waste time, bring Kuldeep back. He may not run through England and may well be a case of being a better bowler when not playing, but Nadeem's benchmark is so low, that Kuldeep can't do any worse!

Hi msp - in line with your overview, my impression was that you didn't have a bowling unit in this match. Although you had three very good bowlers, two of them are seamers which inevitably restricts their workload. If Sundar is going to be picked, he needs to be trusted more. As you say, Nadeem doesn't look up to it.

Furthermore, India's fielding was inconsistent which also clearly hinders your bowlers and adds to the picture of a disjointed team.

One thing India would hope is that the Chennai wicket would somehow rediscover its recent self. It was an atrocious track for the first couple of days, giving absolutely nothing to the bowlers. Even when there was some reverse, because it was so slow, didn't create too much problems for the batsmen. Chennai can have better tracks that would give something consistently for the bowler throughout. The turn-around time is very little, its unlikely anything will change on that front. Kohli would hope he'll be able to win the toss and manage to put up a big total on the board.
And the pitch is another reason why Kuldeep should play. He's a left-arm legspinner, is likely to get some turn on any track... His debut at Dharamshala was on a flattish track that if anything, offered a little bit for the quicks, and he burst opened the game for India on day one. Since the 2019 IPL though, he hasn't been the same force with the ball, T-20 hammering has badly affected his confidence and sides have started playing him better as they've seen more of him. Unlike an Ashwin, Kuldeep hasn't been able to adapt and evolve all that well, but his natural abilities, and his kind of bowling would be more suited to this track than No-Ball Nadeem who has been a disaster of a selection from Kohli.

guildfordbat wrote:

msp83 wrote:Lots to think about for India, their top 3 bowlers bowled well on a flat pitch in the first innings, but Nadeem was a complete letdown and Sundar didn't do all that well either. Jadeja is not going to be available for the next game either, so they shouldn't waste time, bring Kuldeep back. He may not run through England and may well be a case of being a better bowler when not playing, but Nadeem's benchmark is so low, that Kuldeep can't do any worse!

Hi msp - in line with your overview, my impression was that you didn't have a bowling unit in this match. Although you had three very good bowlers, two of them are seamers which inevitably restricts their workload. If Sundar is going to be picked, he needs to be trusted more. As you say, Nadeem doesn't look up to it.

Furthermore, India's fielding was inconsistent which also clearly hinders your bowlers and adds to the picture of a disjointed team.

Yeah, I was surprised Sundar didn't bowl more. He picked up some useful wickets in Sydney and Brisbane. Would also agree that India's fielding was somewhat haphazard - they might be feeling the effects of tiredness, both mentally and physically, after such a gruelling series in Australia.

guildfordbat wrote:

msp83 wrote:Lots to think about for India, their top 3 bowlers bowled well on a flat pitch in the first innings, but Nadeem was a complete letdown and Sundar didn't do all that well either. Jadeja is not going to be available for the next game either, so they shouldn't waste time, bring Kuldeep back. He may not run through England and may well be a case of being a better bowler when not playing, but Nadeem's benchmark is so low, that Kuldeep can't do any worse!

Hi msp - in line with your overview, my impression was that you didn't have a bowling unit in this match. Although you had three very good bowlers, two of them are seamers which inevitably restricts their workload. If Sundar is going to be picked, he needs to be trusted more. As you say, Nadeem doesn't look up to it.

Furthermore, India's fielding was inconsistent which also clearly hinders your bowlers and adds to the picture of a disjointed team.

Hi Guildford, that indeed is a problem.
The thing with Washington, as you mentioned there, is that Kohli doesn't trust him enough. Not that Washi did himself much favors when confronted with Root's broom on day one. But Kohli had this issue with Sundar even at RCB, where as the lad had made a name for himself as a smart operator with the new ball upfront in T-20s, Virat turned to him with the new ball after every other option utterly failed. Washington could hold his own as a T-20 opening bowler afterwards, for both India and RCB. Washington will have to find a way to earn his skipper's trust in the longer format much quicker, and not by elimination.
In the seam bowling department, both Bumrah and Ishant have done well here though they really had to put in long shifts. There is Siraj in there, but them going down here, may not be the best time to bring him in. They are already missing Shami. If he's fit for the 3rd test, and if India achieves parity in the 2nd test, Bumrah can be rested for the 3rd or 4th test. He and Ishant can be rested for 1 game each with Shami coming in. But until Shami is fit and ready, hopefully Bumrah can find a way to do it.
Would be interesting to see how they'd go in for the day-night test, the kind of lineup... Will Hardik make an appearance? Can they afford both Hardik and Pant in the same lineup? All interesting questions, but Kohli would be glad to hold off for the time being...

Duty281 wrote:I'd certainly be disappointed if India were to emerge triumphant after this initial hammering.

Who would have thought they would beat Australia after being drubbed in the first test down under!

Their record in India is phenomenal and I would say they are still evens to win this series. This England team does have something about them though so I can see a shared series or at least a 2-1 either way with a hard fought draw.

Mind the windows Tino. wrote:

Duty281 wrote:I'd certainly be disappointed if India were to emerge triumphant after this initial hammering.

Who would have thought they would beat Australia after being drubbed in the first test down under!

Their record in India is phenomenal and I would say they are still evens to win this series. This England team does have something about them though so I can see a shared series or at least a 2-1 either way with a hard fought draw.

That is indeed correct, it was a real surprise they turned that one around. Would be less of a surprise, admittedly, if India were to win this from a 0-1 position, but England must be confident with key players in form and a constant winning habit being maintained.

Bet365 currently have it at 11/8 that India win the series, 15/8 for England and 5/2 for a drawn series.

Today's result has certainly been good for Australia - a narrow England win or a drawn series sees them in the final against New Zealand.

This has been one of England's best away wins and a really good team performance.

Root's post-match comments were almost as impressive as his batting. He seems to have matured not only as a player but as a person as well.

He was clear-sighted, thoughtful and precise. It seems the management, the captain and the team know exactly what they are trying to do.

Of course India could win the toss in the next Test and make 600 and the pressure will be on. But whatever happens in the series, this has been an outstanding start by England.

Duty281 wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:https://twitter.com/zaltzcricket/status/1359016589660684291?s=21

Think Zaltzman sums it up nicely here. As noted, India had lost only one of their 35 home test matches since that 2012 tour...

6 away test wins on the trot, first time since 1914 if my use of cricinfo is correct.

That was really about as perfect a performance as you’re going to get. Dominated from when Root arrived at the crease on day one onwards
Anything else in this series merely a bonus from here on out for me...

England should be aiming to win the series from here. Might be different if India had handed them victory on a silver platter, but England were consistently excellent in this test, and should be confident of backing it up with at least one more win. I'd certainly be disappointed if India were to emerge triumphant after this initial hammering.

Yep, neat summary from Zaltzman.

As Olly says ''about as perfect a performance as you're going to get'' although I was pleased to hear Root say in his post match interview that there's still ''room for improvement''. If that seems like a contradiction, you are never going to get a Test where all eleven players each get 10/10 ratings. Perhaps strangely, at least a couple would fall a long way short of full marks here. Besides Root's own brilliance, the real superiority was in the team strength as a whole, as particularly exemplified by wonderful fielding and catching.

I do disagree with Olly though about anything more being a bonus from here. I'm far more with Duty on that. We've shown we can win on Indian soil and should be looking to do so again. Having raised our expectations - and, as Duty says, it wasn't through India giving us this win on a plate - I'll be disappointed if we don't at least emerge with a drawn series. Hopefully better than that but I'm prepared to accept that India should improve and it won't be easy for us to continually produce such individual and team excellence.

The top three is where the improvement can be made; neither Burns or Lawrence made significant runs so you'd expect Crawley to come straight back in when available again. Sibley and Stokes both got scores in the first innings while 6/7/8 all got a pair of starts, much as ever will depend on Root scoring big without his runs we could get blown away.

England are couple of batting slots short of greatness. Of 4 possible players in the top 3 only Sibley is really justifying a place on merit recently, and he was the one everyone wanted dropped. If Crawley does walk back in its not exactly through weight of runs this winter. Popes not exactly back to his best down the order either.

Root is absolutely carrying the team at the moment batting wise. This is why Im a bit less enthusiastic about the likelihood of England going on to win the series than some seem to be. If India can get him cheaply and/or England have to bat second thing would likely go very differently. Three tests this winter hes scored 684 despite being run out twice, rest of the team have 908 between them. Someone else needs to start pulling weight, extras have outscored most England players and surely India want no ball so much again.

Gooseberry wrote:England are couple of batting slots short of greatness.

Cook
Strauss
Trott
KP
Bell

That was the last great top 5 we had. Highlights the potential fragility of the current one, Root and Stokes aside.

But Crawley, Sibley and Pope show great promise and need persisting with.

Soul Requiem wrote:The top three is where the improvement can be made; neither Burns or Lawrence made significant runs so you'd expect Crawley to come straight back in when available again. Sibley and Stokes both got scores in the first innings while 6/7/8 all got a pair of starts, much as ever will depend on Root scoring big without his runs we could get blown away.

Burns made a decent start first innings then gave it away. Lawrence didn't really contribute anything. Other than that, everyone in the team made a substantial contribution - we always seemed to have at least two bowlers going well, with who it was changing through the game.

Got the impression that Buttler's keeping was good again on a tricky wicket. A few byes are inevitable when the amount of spin and bounce is so unpredictable, but I think every chance stuck.

Overall, a very good team performance, but yes some room for improvement - would be good if someone other than Root was providing the bulk of the runs at times.

I know Root sometimes gets some (justifiable) criticism for failing to convert 50s into hundreds. One thing that he does do well though is once he get to 100, he goes big - if he passes 100, his average score is 164 (taking into account not outs, he averages 204).

For comparison, KP's average score was 146 and his average 153.

Root's century breakdown:
100-124: 5
125-149: 5 (1 not out)
150-174: 1 (not out)
175-199: 4 (1 not out)
200+: 5 (1 not out)

Not quite Bradman-esque, but I bet it compares favourably with the other 'big 4' bats

dummy_half wrote:

Soul Requiem wrote:The top three is where the improvement can be made; neither Burns or Lawrence made significant runs so you'd expect Crawley to come straight back in when available again. Sibley and Stokes both got scores in the first innings while 6/7/8 all got a pair of starts, much as ever will depend on Root scoring big without his runs we could get blown away.

Burns made a decent start first innings then gave it away. Lawrence didn't really contribute anything. Other than that, everyone in the team made a substantial contribution - we always seemed to have at least two bowlers going well, with who it was changing through the game.

Got the impression that Buttler's keeping was good again on a tricky wicket. A few byes are inevitable when the amount of spin and bounce is so unpredictable, but I think every chance stuck.

Overall, a very good team performance, but yes some room for improvement - would be good if someone other than Root was providing the bulk of the runs at times.

Root should go down as one of the best ever England batsmen. Makes comparison with the rest of his team difficult but I get your point.

After the highs of Aus, this was a disappointing show by India
They lost the game not on skill, but on intensity, focus ad planning.

India was overconfident, arrogant and Kohli not switched on on the field .....screwed up with team selection in the form of Nadeem, not using enuf of Sundar...and generally was not on top of the field placement and moves on his feet......very sluggish after the preciseness shown in Aus.

There was also a feeling of Kohli trying to hard & perhaps too aggressively to take the control (back)...and so the team backed off...OK...you take over...and the team spirit slacked.

On England side.....only Root's inning the first inning first spell of Archer and second inning first spell of Anderson were world class.
Bess was mediocre...and Leach a "manageable" second inning threat----Stokes wasn't bowling anywhere close to his best

India needs to pick up it's team spirit and all round sharpness...bring Kuldeep and put Rohit on notice( yet again)

England priced at 11/4 for the next test. Will be tough to maintain the same level of performance, but that's overly generous.

KP_fan and MSP

Is there an issue with Kohli as captain? You got taken apart in the first test in Aus, and everyone thought the series was gone after that results and with Kohli going home for the birth of his child, yet the remaining performances were outstanding with an ever-more depleted squad.

Was it that the team played better for Rahane?

Well I'm as happy as anyone with this result...but I'm not getting carried away just yet.

As the only poster on here to : ahem : pick England to win this match  I have to say that I'm delighted that they performed up to my most hopeful expectations.  But I also recognise that the toss of the coin had a very significant influence on the course of the match ; and if the call goes the other way next Saturday the advantage given to the home team may well go a long way towards enabling them to level up.

Of course it is never as simple as win the toss win the match : in this case England - mainly through the brilliant Root , but he had some good support - managed to take full advantage of the opportunity they had been given to score big. And then bowled and fielded very well to take the first innings advantage that essentially decided the match. Bowling this fine Indian team out twice here , with virtually only four bowlers as Stokes was , sensibly , lightly used , was an achievement many would have thought beyond them before this series.
The result and the manner of it should give a good deal of confidence that they can mix it with India in the remaining matches . But if anyone thinks they're suddenly massive favourites I'd respectfully suggest they've been drinking too much in celebration. India will come back hard , I am certain of that.

Will be fascinating to see how this result , and the changed expectations created by what was undoubtedly a surprise to most people , impacts the next match. Both teams have selection issues to decide and how they resolve them may also be important. The wear and tear factor on the bowlers of both sides will surely be a factor as the series progresses (after all that was ultimately the decisive influence on the result of the recent Australia v India series) so management of workloads will be a big issue.and injuries may yet play a part...

Most people had India nailed on for a 3-0 or 4-0 win before this match. I always thought England might have a bit more of a chance than that : but I'd still see India as narrow favourites to take the series on their home grounds. Will not surprise me at all if England make a mockery of that view but I'm not rushing off to the betting shop yet.

I am looking forward to the second game though. Could be a cracker...

So Alfie, to keep England's run going - and yours if you are sticking with them to win  - what's the team for the next one?

And well done btw in hitting the lead in Joey's comp, albeit as you'll definitely recognise at the quarter-way mark.

guildfordbat wrote:

Duty281 wrote:

Good Golly I'm Olly wrote:https://twitter.com/zaltzcricket/status/1359016589660684291?s=21

Think Zaltzman sums it up nicely here. As noted, India had lost only one of their 35 home test matches since that 2012 tour...

6 away test wins on the trot, first time since 1914 if my use of cricinfo is correct.

That was really about as perfect a performance as you’re going to get. Dominated from when Root arrived at the crease on day one onwards
Anything else in this series merely a bonus from here on out for me...

England should be aiming to win the series from here. Might be different if India had handed them victory on a silver platter, but England were consistently excellent in this test, and should be confident of backing it up with at least one more win. I'd certainly be disappointed if India were to emerge triumphant after this initial hammering.

I do disagree with Olly though about anything more being a bonus from here. I'm far more with Duty on that. We've shown we can win on Indian soil and should be looking to do so again. Having raised our expectations - and, as Duty says, it wasn't through India giving us this win on a plate - I'll be disappointed if we don't at least emerge with a drawn series. Hopefully better than that but I'm prepared to accept that India should improve and it won't be easy for us to continually produce such individual and team excellence.

I am going to use a Guildford-esque term, and refer to the bookies still having India as decent favourites to outright win the series, despite being 1-0 down with three tests to go. You don't see many poor bookies, isn't that right Guildford

But mainly, it's just that I think India are still a very formidable outfit at home (they are the #1 side in the world after all), and England very much always had the firepower/world class players to produce a test win here, which is imo a great achievement even if they do go onto lose the series 3-1. Maybe they can produce more than one, but in that India stat going round that they had "only lost 1 of their last 35 home tests since the 2012 England tour", it is omitting that they won 28 of those 35 tests. It's incredibly rare for them to lose, rare for them to draw a home test...I don't think one result, where for as well as England played (and rightly deserve plaudits), should massively change or alter expectations for how we think the series could go. It wouldn't shock me to wake up on Sunday morning (day 2 of the next test) to see India 476-3 at lunch.  

Also would note, that I think losing Buttler will be a big blow (maybe unsurprisingly, as I am a noted huge fan). He's a key part of the "think tank" which while did have some questionable reviews in this game, he's generally spot on with that behind the stumps. And as we saw in Sri Lanka, if England do find themselves chasing a low 150-200 type score in the 4th innings, he has the ability to come in and hit a run a ball 50 odd to win the game. I'm also not saying that Ben Foakes won't come in and do fine, before I get lynched by the Surrey mob and Soul!

Would note, fully expect England to continue the Anderson/Broad rotation for the next test.
And potentially see Archer used how Mark Wood was in that 2nd Sri Lanka test, with the knowledge Wood will be available for the 3rd test to allow Archer a rest.

Finally...did anyone think Stokes didn't look bowling fit at all through this game? Only 10 overs in the game, and really most of them where towards the end of the Indian innings both times, and looked to me to be going through the motions. Hopefully nothing and I am just reading too much into things...but I wouldn't be entirely surprised to read a Cricinfo piece around Friday saying he isn't fit to bowl in the 2nd test...